Author: kidsconnectblog

Hurricane Harvey pushed a ton of water and our start date. Tomorrow is our first day of homeschooling. Z and I are both nervous and excited. She’s not my computer kid. She and the computer tolerate each other in short bursts but we are going to plug through it. I’ve seen a ton of positive and negative comments on Facebook from people who have already started in other states. I have also seen an abundance of comments from people who are trying to help in every way they can. It’s a good mix. I feel confident but if I do have a problem I have our homeroom teachers number and email! Lol. Here’s to a good night’s sleep.

A few weeks ago we received our “School Year In A Box’ as I call it. It has the whole curriculum. It was 35 pounds worth of textbooks, workbooks, lab supplies, art supplies, CD’s, and a jump rope for gym class! The kids immediately started jump roping throughout the house. haha. Delving deeper we looked at the lessons. My son looked over my shoulder and said “a book in color?” Yes people, we have turned into a society of black and white printed worksheets containing little or no stimulation. These poor kids. The stories and lessons weren’t just random either. The lessons contain fun facts and interesting stories that teach you something. I will admit that my daughter was a little overwhelmed seeing it all. To her it looked like a ton of work. To me it was a heads up to what the year was going to bring and I could delve into it and find other means to make the subjects even more exciting! Yes, I was the kind of kid that read the textbooks ahead of time over the summer. Even if my daughter is not that kind of kid, at least I know that she will be learning so much more.

I found home school groups on Facebook! Get this, it’s summer but the homeschoolers still get together and have fun at least once a week. We’ve been bowling, went to the new board game café, and met up for dinner. We find educational things to do and post them as events. I’ve met moms and dads who are trying to make it better for their kids and we are all supporting each other! We aren’t all on the same plan either. There are so many ways out there to teach your child and they have all found the one that works for them.

I know I’m not very organized and time and I are not friends. When push comes to shove I know I can do it, but when I talked to some friends and looked online about Connections Academy I found my saving grace. Everything is planned out online. You have contacts, teachers, calendars, and live lessons online. I’m still apart of a school system so I’m protected and my child gets a diploma. Also, its on track with the school system so if she wants to go back to school she won’t be behind. Plus, I found out that transferring back and forth is easy if things don’t work out.

1. You know what your child is being taught.
2. The school has a lesson plan in place.
3. We make our own hours and have the option of home schooling 4 days per week.
4. She can learn more about a subject, go on field trips, volunteer.
5. She can learn at her own pace.
6. No more zombiefication! Seriously. My 5th grade son finally came back from it and gave me a real hug a few days ago.

Here’s my con’s list:

1. Possibly my sanity.
2. My time.
3. It will cost me more because I want to do more with her.
4. My freedom.

So I’m sitting here with my cup of coffee that I have had to microwave 4 times so far thinking of the con’s list.

My sanity. Well, school has been driving me nuts with the constant testing, rules, and teacher changes. This is just going to be another version of me losing my sanity.

My Time. Well, I’m going to have to work around that. There are homeschool groups and classes all around here. I can plan my personal time around that. Also, good and bad, my husband works from home a lot. He can monitor when she has to do her work on the computer and I can escape for a bit. Heck, I will take any perk I can get out of that one.

The cost. The school is constantly asking for money. I’ve dished out a few hundred per kid every year on yearbooks, supplies, spirit wear, events, etc. This will cost me more but it’s my choice and I can use the memberships and materials to teach my oldest too. I’m not worried about this con.

My freedom. This one is linked to my time and my sanity. We shall see. The way I’m looking at it right now…. we can have school on the beach. We aren’t limited. Maybe I’m gaining more freedom than I’m losing.

Hi I’m Jen. I’m a wife, mom of 2 awesome kids (2 dogs and 2 cats who are also my kids), marine biologist (until I had kids)/jack of all trades Master of Nothing, and I was homeschooled back in the 90’s. If my mom can do it from scratch when AOL was just getting popular, so can you! We were doing it because I was fed up that my history class covered 600 years of world history in the span of 30 minutes! I didn’t think that was preparing me in any way for college and I had had enough. When I was younger it was barely legal to do it. Mom had to start from scratch with a lesson plan. We went to book stores to find textbooks (no Amazon yet). We had to go to the board of education to get approval and show a portfolio. God bless her I don’t know how she was so organized. That is a trait I am lacking and I’ve tried taking classes in organization.

I have a little girl just about to enter 3rd grade this coming school year. We had about 2 months left a school when she came to me asking the same question I had asked my mom over 25 years ago. “Mom, I’m not learning anything and I’m so bored. Please can you homeschool me?” Of course I can! I’m a product of homeschool 1.0 and I had the most amazing experience of my life! And can you friggin believe it? Homeschooling is everywhere now! Best of all, there are pre set-up programs to help the unorganized like me. Thank my lucky stars I heard about Connections Academy from my good friend Angie.

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Let’s Home School!

You can home school. There are so many options out there now that are there to help you do the best for your child. I plan on making this site the goto place for information, links, plans, connections, lessons, and ideas. We can do this together!